As a defenseman, Niklas Hjalmarsson’s job is to get in the way of fast-moving pucks. And because he’s a hockey player, he’s honorbound to fulfill that responsibility even when every logical part of his brain screams that it’s a bad idea.
Here he is standing tough in the path of a Zdeno Chara rocket.
It appears the blast catches more stomach than groin but that’s of little solace.
This hurts to even watch.
I look forward to seeing what kind of welt develops at the point of impact. Probably going to be pretty gnarly.